User Reviews

Been waiting to crack this one open for a long while now. Alvinne certainly knows how to experiment and brings original stuff to the table.

A- Poured into two mini snifters from the 330ml bottle. Immediately notice that the carbonation is pretty much missing, no foam or head at all, looks like a wine more than anything. No lace of course.

S- Mellowed oak barrels and wine fruits pretty much make up a bulk of the nose to me. Some of the oak has become vanilla and reminds me of Bourbon or Rum just a bit. Notes of apples, tons of grapes, slight lemon tarts, raisin, brown sugar, rum and deep sweet malts. Funky.

T- I've never had Monbazillac wine before but the tart fruity grapes really open up lending something that could be seen as sour, but I think it's just fruit flavors. Below the grapes is a lot. Malts lend a lot of caramel and brown sugar sweetness. Oak flavor is fresh and quite ripe. Some Belgian yeast spice like a Quad or BSDA but not very prevalent above the grapes and raisins. Malt base reminds me of a Barleywine.

MF- Thick and somewhat oily body with almost no carbonation, pretty much none. Texture is somewhat watery because of the lack of bubbles but the thickness makes up for it a bit, very much like a strong wine.

Alcohol is obscenely hidden. If this is truly 15%, I am not sure how they got it like this, no heat or alcohol flavor. The wine barrels give off a huge amount of flavor above a nice malty and Belgian yeast influenced base.

The wine barrel oak provides a nice smokey flavor which is not as overpowering as most oaked beers. This is a trade-off as you lose some of the standard Belgian Quad candy qualities. Not a beer I would drink regularly, but it's a nice beer to savor on occasion. Certainly one of the better oaked beers I've ever had.

A: The beer is hazy brownish amber in color. It poured with a quarter finger high head that never completely faded away.
S: Moderate aromas of dark fruits are present in the nose along with strong notes of sweet wine from the barrel aging.
T: The taste is similar to the smell, except that that the flavors of oak and sweet wine are stronger
M: It files medium-bodied on the palate and has a low to moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is extremely drinkable for its strength and the style because it hides its alcohol very well.

Appearance: Pours a murky amber with very little head though it does leave some spotty dots behind

Smell: Caramel, fruity wine grapes and some oak

Taste: Opens with the caramel but quickly adds a vinous character from the white wine barrels in the mid-palate; the sweeter elements come through, after the swallow, bringing a dark fruit and oak character along with it

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low carbonation

Overall: An interesting quad that keeps the sweetness in check and hides the alcohol well

Pours a still, clear cola-copper with trace amounts of head and no lace. Nose starts off artificial, phenolic and plastic with some plum, raisin, port and brown sugar. Syrupy, slick medium thick body with light carbonation and a strong warming finish. Flavor is very sweet and sugary, caramel, red wine, plum, vanilla, and grape skin. A few ounces was tolerable, but too sweet and boozy overall.

Pours a dark chestnut brown color that's completely opaque and almost completely still with a minimal bubbly head that immediately fades away. No retention or any lacing to speak of.

Vinous, boozy aroma with a strong barrel presence that's countered by dark fruit and sweet malt. Really boozy smelling with some dry oak and a prominent red wine presence. Some toasted oak with a strong grape character followed by burnt sugars, cinnamon, caramel, toffee, plum and fig.

Medium bodied and slightly syrupy with a blast of sweet, boozy heat that gives way to the barrel character and sweet malt notes as it warms. Subtle toasted oak and coconut but the wine presence is really strong with lots of grape, currant and other dark berries. Underneath, there is some burnt sugar, caramel and toffee with some more vinous dark fruit toward the finish. As the palate adjusts, the heat becomes less intense but it remains incredibly sweet.

Pours a flat, cloudy amber color. Intense sugar and caramel aroma along with wood, vanilla, and white wine. Mild dark fruit notes, mostly raisin and plum. The flavor is almost cloyingly sweet. Heavy on the wine and vanilla and oak. Just as heavy on the brown sugar and caramel, too. Lots of dark fruits and maybe a touch of oxidation. Just way too sweet.

Aroma is treacly sweet, many pulped fruits. White raisins. Hints of oxidation. The alcohol while perceptible is not intrusive.

Uber sweet. Vinous qualities dominate the flavor, they define. If told the barrel retained an 1/8 fill of monbazillac I would not argue. Minor oak, strong tannins. Aftertaste never fully disappears between sips. Full bodied lifeless mouthfeel feels appropriate. Somewhat unpleasant when the drink is more than a sip but a sip is perfectly fine. No heat but needs warmth.

M: Full bodied with a low carbonation. The mouthfeel is mostly sticky, particularly on the finish. Still very drinkable given the absolutely unnoticeable ABV (would have say 9-10).

O: Wonderful beer! A very very good example of quadrupel, sweet, malty, fruity, deep, but with hints of a Flanders oud bruins character due to the aging, viscous like an Imperial Stout. Very nice!

Actually, when I smelled it, I first thought that I had already drunk something like that, but without the barrel character. The same impression while drinking it. It took me a while to identify the intruder, but now, except for the balance of the flavors, I can not think of anything else : it smells and tastes like an oak barrel aged Westvleteren! Next time I happen to get one, I'll definitely crack open a Westy for comparison!

A: This poured a murky copper with no head at all. Bottle didn't hiss when I popped the top either...maybe infected?
S: It smelled like rum soaked raisin and earthy wheat bread, with some copper and fresh oak and fig newton and toffee. Definitely not infected.
T: It tasted like earthy honey wheat and sweet toffee, with fig newton and french oak, and a little copper and rum raisin. It had a sweet and clean aftertaste that was surprisingly mellow.
M: It was oily and slick, with almost no carbonation. Strange body.
D: This was a nice unique beer with great malty quad character modified with wine barrel aging. It seemed at least a couple years old, or maybe it just had a faulty bottle cap that accelerated the oxidization. Either way, I really liked the scent and taste, but not so much the flat body. The alcohol was hidden crazy well, so it was very easy to drink, although worth sipping. Very enjoyable to try once, at least.

Bottle from West Lakeview Liquors. Served in a FFF/Intelligentsia snifter.

A - Pours pretty much still - there's a few big bubbles from a hard pour. Murky orange-brown body.

S - Huge white wine and barrel influence. Sweet grapes - similar to the Sauternes beer I had from Nørrebro, but without the wild yeast. Malt sweetness comes through, Belgian yeast, and a hint of grain alcohol.

I had the pleasure of enjoying a bottle of this brew at Beer Table in Brooklyn. This is a mahogany colored brew very little head. The aroma is a collection of earthy, oaky smells and fruity alcohol esters. Leather and tobacco also seem to be in the mix. More of the same on the palate. Tartness and earthiness mix very nicely with fruity notes. There is depth and complexity to this thing. A wonderful after dinner brew. A very good and unusual brew.

Bottle: Poured a hazy dirty copper color ale with a medium size foamy head with OK retention and light lacing. Aroma of light Cognac notes with balanced sweet malt. Taste is a nice mix between some Cognac notes with well balanced sweet notes with a solid malt backbone. Light dry fruit esters are also pleasant. Body is quite full with medium carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Nice drink to end the evening.

A big shoutout goes out to my doppelganger for sharing this one with me! Served from bottle into a Mikkeller taster flute. Poured red-orange with a very minimal light tan head. There was no lacing evident throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, wood, caramel, sweet alcohol, and peat. The flavor was of sweet malt, caramel, wood, and peat. It had a medium feel on the palate with low carbonation. Overall this was a pretty good brew. Despite the flavor nothing being very complex, it makes up for it with overall smoothness. I usually dread beers when I smell peat on them as it is one of the flavors I usually don't enjoy. However, this one incorporated the flavor of the peat quite nicely with the rest of the brew. The caramel was a pretty nice touch to help with this. Worth trying if you get the chance.

It pours a clear reddish copper with a creamy tan head that leaves some decent lacing behind.

The smell is pretty good. Very nice quad notes here with dark fruit and caramel. There is also a component form the barrel aging. In there is some peach, grape, apple, cherry, very fruity, along with a touch of vanilla. Very complex and satisfying.

The flavor is very nice. Sweet, but nice. It has a wide spectrum of flavors that really meld well. First of is the quad element. It has a nice bit of caramel and a load of dark fruit. The oak is much more noticeable in the flavor and provides a nice smoothness. The fruitiness carries over from the smell with an abundance of fruit flavors.

The mouthfeel is thick and viscous, but nice. It is a desert beer for sure.

Overall: Pretty darn tasty. Bottle label mentiones that the brew ws aged in Monbazillac. (An internet search tells me that this is a sweet, white French varietal.) Definitely a sipper based on alcohol strenth. Could become a bit syrupy and cloying, but doesn't separate too far from the style. (label gives fair warning that this is a dessert beer.) I can't remember how far this bottle set me back, but it was worth the try. Hope you get the chance to try sometime.

Purs a hazy orange-ish color with a small light tan head. In the aroma, dark fruit and oaky. In the taste, oaky, dark fruits, with a small presence of alcohol and vanilla. A smooth and medium bodied mouthfeel, with a dry bourbon like aftertaste. Hides that 15% really well, big bourbon, a great sipper, loved it!

On tap at the Alvinne Craft Beer Festival in Belgium, March 2011. Reviewed from notes.

Body is translucent copper. Minimal head, just a ring of bubbles.

Smells malty, fruity, and of old wood.

Tastes of concentrated caramelized malt with a great vinous character. This is very sweet and definitely has the mark of a sweet French wine from it's aging in Montbazillac barrels.

Body is medium to slightly viscous from the sugars, and a rather flat mouthfeel. Definitely more of a desert wine.

An unusual beer that is pretty tasty but really only drinkable in small quantities due to its high sweetness and alcohol level. The alcohol tastes surprisingly low in this beer. I would not describe this as a quadruple, it is really more like an old ale or a barleywine.

have this at cellar as it hides the adv so fantastically for its youth. This is a food beer no doubt as it is alcohol tanin tough. This is a youthful gale prize old ale. Pours the same for those that know. Not much foam. Almost nothing after the initial go. Very very lean feel for something this strong. Nose is very minimal for something this big. Just wine notes and dark fruit subtlities. Palate is meek but dangerously drinkable. Almost small in the face of food. Still... It tingles. Its has fortified grape qualities... And tobacco. Sunflower seed... And where that came from i don't know. It is trying at meaty. But grain influenced. Peach finish... And twig cedar wine accent. Big... Not bold. I just don't know they did it.

T - Nice sweet fruity taste along with malt syrup. The depth of this beer very good and amazing. The alcohol goes to my head like a rocket to the moon. This beer drinks way to easy for a fifteen percent, it is illegal!

M - The soft carbonation is a delight for my palate. No bitterness in the finish.

O - You feel this one going to your head like a race horse going for the finish line. This one is a knocker! Beautiful drinkable beer, worth buying. But I wouldn't call it a quad.

Pours an almost completely carbonationless copper color with maybe 60 bubbles present after the pour. Smells only of boozy super-sweet malts with some minor yeast notes peaking thru. First sip hits you with a total lack of carbonation with a ton of fruits – mostly pears and some dark plums dominating. Candy sugars and oak add to the finish. This is boozy for sure but not as much as one would think for a 15% beer. Mouthfeel is awful due to the complete lack of carbonation. This is certainly a flaw that could have been rectified through bottle conditioning. Still worth drinking and overall pretty damn good.